According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), taxpayers who claimed deductions on their returns received a total of 747 billion dollars in write-offs. However, many Americans miss out on the opportunity to take home more money in the form of tax credits because they are not familiar with how they work. For instance, one in five people who qualified for Earned Income Tax Credit failed to claim it on their tax returns.
For you to maximize your earnings, you must know which tax breaks and deductions you qualify for. Here we highlight the top five tax credits that are often overlooked.
Earned Income Tax Credit
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a tax credit that is available to people who fall within a specified income threshold. Specifically, it is meant to supplement wages for low and moderate-income workers. It is also provided for people who have lost their jobs, worked fewer hours, or took a pay cut. Even if you previously did not qualify, you are eligible for a break if you meet all the qualifications.
Basically, the EITC you receive depends on three main factors: your family size, income, and marital status. Worth noting here is that to receive this deduction, you have to file a tax return whether or not you owe taxes. Moreover, you can claim a refund going back three tax years if you were eligible all along but did not apply for it.
Child and dependent care tax credit
Many Americans miss out on the child and dependent care tax credit due to a lack of knowledge on how it works. Typically, you can legally run up to 5000 dollars in a reimbursement account, which is exempted from normal taxes. However, if you spend more than this amount in a year, you are eligible for a tax credit of an extra 1000 dollars. This means that using the minimum 20 percent of the expenses, you can save at least 200 dollars in taxes.
Student loan interest
Student loans can be adjusted according to your income. Thus, if your income falls within a certain range, you do not have to pay a fixed amount every period. What is more, student loan deductions do not require an itemized deduction for you to claim them.
There are basically three types of deduction you can claim in regard to student loan interests. First is The American Tax Opportunity Tax Credit, which is a tax deduction for college expenses for the first four years of education. The maximum annual credit here is 2,500 dollars a year.
The second is The Lifetime Learning Credit, which is worth 2,000 per return, applies to individuals who are/were enrolled in an eligible institution. Lastly, The Tuition and Fees Deduction allows taxpayers to deduct up to 4,000 dollars from their income. Being aware of these tax break opportunities can save you a good amount in taxes.
State sales tax
Several states in the US have no income tax. They include Alaska, Tennessee, North Dakota, Washington, New Hampshire, Nevada, Wyoming, Texas, and Florida. If you live in one of these taxes, you are eligible for state sales tax. This law allows you to deduct expenditures such as house renovation costs, purchase of cars, boats, and planes, among others. To know what is deductible, you can use the IRS tables or keep a record of all your sales tax in a year and use it to claim these benefits.
Reinvested dividends
This is a subtraction that taxpayers miss and one that can end up saving them a lot of money in taxes: Essentially, if you have mutual funds dividend invested in shares, your tax basis increases, thus reducing the amount of capital gain when you decide to sell your shares. Failure to include the reinvested dividends means paying more taxes than you should.
Being aware of how tax deductions and credits work can go a long way in saving you a substantial amount of money. This is even more true for business owners and startup founders. Incentax LLC can work with you to help you take advantage of the available federal and state tax credits for your business. Contact us to begin enjoying maximum returns with minimum inconveniences!